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Goodyear will provide NASCAR teams two different tire compounds for the annual All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Goodyear will provide two different tire compounds for NASCAR's All-Star Race

Charlotte Motor Speedway also unveiled the format for annual exhibition

April 11, 2017

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Looking to spice up the Monster Energy All-Star Race, NASCAR has introduced multiple tire compounds for the annual non-points race held each May at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

As in previous seasons, the All-Star Race will once again be multiple segments that builds to a 10-lap shootout for $1,000,000 to the winner. However, it’s the introduction of a softer second tire compound that could make the finish much more unpredictable.

As in IndyCar and F1, Goodyear has produced for NASCAR a softer ‘option’ tire that can be used at any point during the race in addition to the standard 'prime' tire used throughout the regular season. Because it features a softer compound, the option tire will fall-off faster than the prime tire.

This option tire utilizes the same speedway construction as the standard tire but with tread compounds formulated to provide additional grip. Goodyear officials project that this tire could be anywhere from three- to five-tenths faster than its primary counterpart. Teams in the All-Star Race will only be given four for the entire race and must bolt on the entire set at once.

The race itself is 70 laps with four stages of 20 laps, 20 laps, 20 laps and a 10 lap shootout -- a reference to the 1992 One Hot Night race that is arguably the most famous finish in event history. The goal for drivers in the first three stages is to reach the final stage that will only host 10 finalists.

The winner of the first three stages will lock up a spot in the final stage, as long as they remain on the lead lap after the final stage. In other words, they can’t win a stage and simply sit on pit road until the final 10 lap dash.

The drivers with the best average finish the first three stages will make up the final spots needed to fill the 10-car final stage. Those drivers will then be lined up by average finish of the first three stages and given the option to pit.

Exit off pit road determines the starting order for the final stage.

However, there’s a catch involving the option tires: Once a team decides to use their one set, they must put all four tires at once, and ANY TEAM USING THEIR SET FOR THE FINAL STAGE MUST RESTART BEHIND THOSE ON OPTION TIRES.

In other words, this encourages some teams to use their options during the first three segments to improve their average running order while also using the primary tires in order to gain track position over those who saved their prime tires for the finish.

With only 10 green laps to go, since caution laps do not count, it becomes a battle of tire types versus track position. NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O'Donnell says the format was created to promote strategy and entertainment.

"With the effort that Goodyear has put into this race with multiple tire compounds, I am excited to see how the stages play out, especially the final 10-car, 10-lap sprint to the checkered flag," O'Donnell said.

Cup Series championship leader Kyle Larson isn’t sure how the tire strategy will play out but he’s fascinated.

"I don’t watch a lot of Formula 1 but when I do, I see they have seven or eight different options for tires between the dry and the wet,” Larson said. "And it’s interesting because you can see the lap times and the fall off during the course of the race.

"It’s definitely going to add an interesting wrinkle and add some excitement to this race at least."

Qualifying for the main event, which returns to Friday night, will again include the'no speed limit' four-tire pit stop. Each team will have three timed laps, one of which will include a mandatory four-tire pit stop with no pit-road speed limits enforced.

The five quickest teams will advance to the final round of qualifying to determine starting positions one through five.

The Monster Energy Open will occur Saturday evening prior to the Monster Energy All-Star Race and will include three stages (20 laps, 20 Laps, 10 laps). The winner of each stage will earn a spot in the All-Star race. The Monster Energy Open field will be set by two rounds of traditional knock-out qualifying.

Those eligible for the Monster Energy All-Star Race include: Drivers who won a race in either 2016 or 2017; drivers who won a Monster Energy Series All-Star Race and compete fulltime; and drivers who won a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship and compete fulltime. Those who have not already earned a spot via the above criteria can still lock-in by winning a stage in the Monster Energy Open or by winning a fan vote.